the_treatyfandomcom-20200214-history
Claire "Nana" York
Claire York, who was dubbed 'Nana' by Hawk, is a protagonist in the novel, The Treaty. She is the town's sympathetic doctor and only source of medicine on the island. She falls in love with David after rescuing him from the icy waters. Backstory 2033 Claire was a practicing doctor in Perth, Australia, before being recruited to the ice station of Casey as a seasonal medical expert and surgeon. She worked with an intolerable fellow physician, Dr Patrick Glover, whose misogynistic attitude towards her made for a toxic environment. Claire and her team, including Glover, were unable to evacuate Casey before the bombings began, due to a critical patient waiting for a med-evac helicopter. When it arrived, there was only room for three passengers, but there were five still in the clinic. Glover wanted to abandon the patient and save himself, attempting to give him a lethal injection to ensure he went peacefully. Claire stopped him by knocking him out and handcuffing him to a pole. The others were evacuated, except for Claire and Glover. When Glover came to, he claimed he knew of a safe haven where they could wait out the bombings: McMurdo. It would require them to follow the coastline by truck, snowmobile, perhaps even on foot, for several weeks. After realizing no one was returning to Casey for them, Claire had no choice but to trust him. Over the time it took to get to McMurdo, Claire suffered at the hands of Glover's unwanted sexual advances. He kept her mentally and physically imprisoned, being the only one who knew the way. On the last night, starved, beaten, and broken, Claire once again handcuffed Glover in his sleep to a pole and carried on by foot alone. She was rescued by Hawk and given shelter in the Treaty. After hearing her story, Hawk made sure to take his sweet time getting back outside to recover Glover, only to find he had frozen to death, with the scalpel only managing to make it half way through his wrist before succumbing to the elements. Claire subsequently set herself up as the town's doctor, and Hawk gave her a new nickname. Claire represents Lawful Good: always abiding and there to assist anyone in need of medical attention, even enemy soldiers. In the book (2035) Nana is one of the first faces David comes across when he is rescued from the water. She personally helps him recover from hypothermia while also serving as his guide to the strange, wonderful world around him. She attempts to help him come to terms with being trapped here, but after hearing that he was on his way to meet a girl he loves, Nana informs David of Porter's ship as a way he can get off Antarctica. When this fails, the two end up forming a special bond of their own that gradually becomes love. The relationship is not approved of by Hawk, who sees himself as a father figure to Nana and other young members of the Treaty. David helps Nana break out of her little shell of fear with his rebellious, fun-loving nature. Nana has multiple interactions with townsfolk who become injured or ill. She attempts to counsel Hawk after his nightmares return, she rations out dwindling medications for her ill patients, and she also has important interactions with Ben Hart, his father, and his friends. Nana risks her life to step between the trade-off taking place between Anderson and David when an American soldier gets injured, an act of bravery that startles most. Nana also helps diagnose the mercury poisoning in twins Isabella and Robbie, subsequently stumbling upon the large weapons supply in an adjacent cave. During the final battle, Nana and Fox lead the unarmed Treaty members to safety, where she witnesses Fox sacrifice himself to protect the others. Sadly, Nana is unable to save Hawk in the end. She breaks down in tears, and makes sure he is honored with an ice burial before the rest of the Treaty are ferried away by the Coalition.